Process of softening water.



G. H. UECKE. Paocfss oF SOFTENINGWAIER.. APPLICATION FILED maffe. 1911.

Patented Felbff 5, 1918.,

2 SHEETS-SHEET If GT. H. UECKE; PBUCPESS 0F SOFTENING WATER. APPLIGM'ION FILED fEB. 19. 19H.

www@ Feb. 5,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET?.

GEORGE 1HE. UJECKJE, 01E MNNIIE OLIrMINNlESOT.

neuneu.

.To all rw/tom it may concern:

-water and provides an improvement in the rocess of accomplishing this result,'where y greater `efficiency and economy are effected. Particularly, the invention relates to that art of softening water, wherein the water is softened by passing the same through a softening material which has as its base a softening element, or elements, capable of ychemically displacing the calcium and magnesium from the original crude and hard water, and itself capable of being replaced in the softening material vby a regenerating fluid.- 1

Zeolite, either natural or artificial, is a material best ada ted for use as the water softeningmaterial 'llhis zeolite has sodium as a base and it supplies the sodium which lis'left in the softened water in an amount chemically equivalent to the calcium and magnesium removed from the original hard water. When the zeolite has been depleted by loss of its sodium, it may be regenerated or restored to normal condition and strength bypassing through ita solution of sodium chlorid or commonv salt, and may be thus repeatedly-regenerated or ut back into condition for repeated softenmg actions 4on the water passed therethrough. v

In carrying out processes of softening wavter by'V the use of zeolite, it has hitherto beenthe common practice `to confine the zeolite in a so-called filtering tank, and to regenerate thesame after exhaustion or depletion, from loss of sodium, by passing a sodium Achlorid or common salt brine down` wardl throu hthe same. This downward movement o the brine is necessarily through water contained in the spaces between the particles ofthe zeolite, and as the brine is form e heavier. than the water, there is a very great comminglin of the water with the brine. lin practice, itfhas been found that this brine, in passin downward through `the water, will ddies 'or currents usually at one side 'JPRUCIESS 0F SOIEVTENING WATER.

Specication of Letters Patent.l

Ifatentcd fcb. 5, tmf..

Application med February 19, 1917. y Serial No. 149,391. i

of the tank, and hence, will not produce an even regeneration of the zeolite. Moreover, this downward movement of the brine makes it impossible or, at least, impracticable to save and re-use the brine left in the tank` after the regenerating process has been completed. My improved process involves several novel features and steps of manipulation.

As a highly important feature,.thebrine, instead of being fed downward, is fed upward "to and through the zeolite or softening material, so that when its upper level y rises (the said brine being' heavier than -water), it will displace and force the water upward without mixing therewith and without producing eddies 'or currents, but, on

the contrary, by producing a perfectl even flow throughout the zeolite, will even y and thoroughly regenerate the same.

This regenerating action is best producedv in a tank or reservoir with the zeolite at or near the bottom thereof; and as a, further step of improvement, the water displaced by the. upwardly Howing or rising brine,.is drawn o' from the closed tank at a point immediately above the zeolite, and fwithout disturbing to any .noticeable extent, the waterconfined in the upper portion of the tank. These actions, and others, greatl facilitate the removal `of water and devita ized portions of the brine, togetherwith the lime and magnesia carried from the zeo- 'lite duringior after the regeneration thereof.

For carrying out this process, lf preferably use the apparatus disclosed and claimed 1n my companlon application S. N.;156,306 filed of date, March 21, 1917 and-entitled Water softening apparatus.

lln the drawings illustrating this apparatus, like 'characters indicate like parts throughout the several views. Referring to* the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, some parts being broken. away and some parts being sectioned; and

Fig. 2. is a section on -the line 2'-2 of Fig. 1, some parts being broken awayand some parts belng sectioned. y y

'llhe apparatus, as preferably described, acts both as a filter andas a water softener, and thejreceptacle in which these actions take place is preferably, andlas shown, in the formof a large upright metal so-called filtering tank '3 closed at both ends and made uid tight. rlhe lzeolite, which is a '5 bottom thereof by a fine meshed partition or z `falsebottom 4. This zeolite is placed in the Y flower portion of the tank and, preferably partitionf4, a'layer of gravel 3/1 is preferiibly placed at the bottom of a body ofzeoftefg/.

g Thefiltering material y2, which may be marble chips, is contained in the upper portion of lthe tank 3 and isl su ported on a perforated v horizontal partition 5. The water to be filtered is supplied to the tank `vthijough a supply pipe 6 which may be as- *2o suined to be connected to city water under pressure. As shown, a water meter 7 is 1nterposed in said supply pipe. In the form. v ofthe apparatus illustrated -in the drawings, e this Supply pipe 6 is connected to a U- "xfshaped tube or pipe 8, the upper prong of which is. connected to the upper portion of thi," v ank'3 b a pipe 9. The said upper prong-'of the -tube 8 is als connected to a backmotion drain pipe ^10, that discharges to,;,a'hpit or sewer connection 11, or elsepwliere; The lower prong'of the said tube 8 is connected to the bottom of the tank 3 by i I a pipe 12. The lower portion of this pipe 12 has a yprojecting drain 13 normally closed by a valve 14. In'the U-tube or pipe 8 are fourva'lves' 15,16, 17 and 18, which perform vfunctions to be hereinafter described. The casing 'of thevalve 18 is connected to a pipe 19 through which -the softened water is delivered frointhel tank.

' Immediatelyljvoverlying the upper surface of the body of 'zeolite g/,is the upper extremity` ofa so-calledsiphon tube'l or draw-oft' p1pe20., The inner endk of` the ,said pipe 20 is preferably made in'the formof an annue lar tube-21 ,that is perforated at its under surface, and'the `pipe. 20 has a normally closed valve 22. The lower en d of the said pipe 22 -is turned upward at 23 and, as shown, is arranged to discharge into the drain pitf11.

The vnumerals 24 and25 indicate brine tanks, the latter of-which is supported above the former. Brine tubes or pipes 26 and 27' lead, respectively, from the bottom of the tanks 24and 25 and are connected by a common pipe 28 to the upper portion of the pipe 12. The said pipes 26, 27 and 28 are provided, respectively, with valves 29, 30 and 31. Small pipes 32 and 33 lead, respectively, from the pipes 26 and 27 from points below their valves, and thesetwo small pipes are connected by a common small pipe 34 to the lower portion ofthe pipe 12. Said pipes 32 "and 33 are provided with valves 35 and 36, respectively, andwith check valves 37, which water, under pressure from the'supply pipe 4permit', flowy from left toright, in re ect to ipe 34 e valve 41. The valve 41 will be closed at all *Y considerably'less than half fills thesame. ;ffi lmmediately on the upper .surface of thetimes except when the tank 3 is being either emptied or filled. Otherwise stated, pipe"40 '42 Aindicates a pressure gage applied to the tank 3.

When water is to be run through the aE- paratus for the purpose of softening t same, valves 15 and'18 must be opened and all of the other valves 'of the apparatus must be closed; and the water will then run from suppl pipe 6 through portion of U-pipe 8, and t rough pipe 9 to the top of the filterin tank 3. This water is fed first downwar through the filtering material y2, and from thence, on downward through the zeolite, to the bottom of the tank, and from thence, out through pipes 12 and 19. The filter takes 90 out the dirt or other solid foreign particles from the water, and while it is desirable, is not in all cases an indispensable feature.

After the zeolite has been exhausted or depleted to such an extent that it needs regeneration to restore it to normal condition, it is desirable, at least at certain times, to back wash the same and the filtering material' and to accomplish this, valves 17 and 16 should be opened and all other valves of the apparatus closed. When this is done, the

6,- will iow through portion of U-pipe 8 and through pipe 12 to bottom of the tank,r and from thence, will be driven up through the zeolite and through the filtering material and out through pipe 9,-a portion of U- pipe 8 and water drain pipe 1Q. Valves 16 and 17 should now be closed.

The next action is to run the brine contained in the tanks 24 and 25 into the filtering tank 3, and this is accomplished in a new and highly important manner, t'o-wit, instead of being run downwardA through the zeolite, as has hitherto been the practice, it is delivered into the bottom of the tank and caused to rise through the said zeolite.

Highly important actions result from this manner of delivering the regenerating fluid to the zeolite. To cause the brine to flow from the said tanks 24and 25 into the bottom of the filtering tank 3, valves 35, 36'and 38 of pipes 33, 32 and 34, respectivel should be opened, and valve 22'of the sip on tube 2Q should be, opened. In this way, both tanks 24 and 25 may/be simultaneously connected to th'evbottomof the filtering tank 3; but it has been found in practice that the liquid from upper tank 25, will flow into the filtering tankbefore the brine will commence 180 Maaate to flow thereinto from the lower tank.-

is partly due to the greater elevation of tank 25, but is also due to the fact that pipes 20, 33 and 34: have substantially the same conducting apacity. Here it may be also stated that the brine in the upper tank will not lbe as Strong as the brine in the lower tank. For example, the brine in the lower tank will usually be about ten per cent. salt solution. Each of the tanks 24 and 25 will preferably contain approximately enough brine to fill the filteringtank to the level of the top of the zeolite y, but the lower tank will'usually be provided with brine, a little ,in excess of that just stated.

The relatively weak brine from the upper tank will flood'the Czeolite and start the regeneration, and in fact, eect a very consid erable part o f said regeneration by supplying the sodium thereto. As this brine flows gradually into the filtering tank and rises very slowly from the bottom toward the top of the zeolite., it drives out of the tank, through theI siphon tube 20, the water which it displaces from between the particles of the zeolite, without disturbing or moving the water in the top of the tank. At this time, of course,y the sup ly of water under pressure to the top of t e filtering tank is cut oii'. Here it is important to note that the raised lower end of the siphon pipe 20 is below thebottom of the lower tank 24:. rlhis is important, for otherwise, it would be impossible to completely drain the said lower tank. If, for example, the lower end of the said siphon tube 23 were raised to the center of the lower tank, then itA would be impossible to drain the Said lower tank below that'point. In the arrangement shown, the lower or discharge end of the Siphon tube 2() constitutes the extremity of one leg, and the top of the upper tank 25, the extremity of the other leg of the siphon. 'llhe purpose of turning up the lower end of the siphon tube 20 is to form a water trap therefor.

The perforated head 21 ofv the Siphon pipe 20 not only takes the brine from numere ous points, but takes it from a level lmmediately above the zeolite, and not from the upper part of said tank. When thestronger brine fromthe lower tank begins to run into the bottom of the filtering tank, it willA displace and force upward the initial charge of brine from the tank 25 and cause the devitalized portion thereof to How out through the sipon tube 20; but here it is importantto state that the outgoing liquid representing'.

of calcium chlorid, lime and magnesium, but it will gradually grow stronger and stronger ttt with these substances, and finally commence` to show trace of salt or sodium chlorid. rlt`he last'of the solution discharged through the Siphon pipe 20 and replaced by brine from the lower tank 24, running into the filtering tank, will be practically pure or very good brine solution, but very little of this will be wasted by'discharge through the said Siphon pipe.

'llhe valve 38 will be preferably set so that it will require six or eight hours for the contents of the brine tank 25 to run through and the lcontents of the brine tank 24 to run into, and av little thereof, run` through the said filtering tank. When this has been accomplished, the zeolite will have been regenerated, bu't the said tank will still contain the charge of brine which must be removed therefrom before the apparatus can be again brine, as above stated, valves 35, 36 and 38 V are first closed, while valve 22 of the Siphon pipe 20 is still open, and water supply valve 15 is open slightly, for a very short time, and water is allowed to run into the top of the filtering tank, so as to force od' water contained immediatelyabove the zeolite, and which, because of the anity of water for calcium chlorid, will absorb more or less of the latter during the regenerating process.'

After this washing-out action has been ac,- complished,valve 22 is closed, valve 15 is left open, and valves 29 and 31 are opened; and

when this is done, the downward pressure of the. water will' force the relatively heav7 brine downward and from the bottom of the filtering tank through pipes 12, 28 and 26, to"

lower brine tank 24. It has been found that the brine at the bottom of the tank will be stronger than 'that farther up and this is.

ira

the reason for first deliverin the brine'back* into the lower brine tank.

and valve 30 is opened, so that the remainder of the brine will, bedelivered into the said upper brine tank 25.- In practice, vit has been found that the upper tank 25 lwill be about three-fourths filled with the brine water before the water loses all but a'1 mere trace of salt. At or about this time additional salt may be put into the lower tank 24k to restore it to its original strength. Y. f

After the above has been accomplished, valves 30 and 31 are closed. 'llo remove the hen lower tank a.. 2 4 has been nearly filled, valve 29 is closed 1.20"

the zeolite, will be softenedby'the chemical action already noted.

The above described arrangement whereby the regenerating fluid is forced upward rather than downward through the zeolite, makes it possible to reclaim' the sodium or salt solution, which otherwise, and which .hitherto has been wasted in apparatus of this general character. The sodium or salt solution or brine is, of course, heavier than pure water, and'will remain in a sort of a layer below the pure water, thus rendering it .possibleto carry out the various important stepsvabove described. Moreover, other important actions result from this upward delivery of the saltsolution. For instance, under a slow rise or a rapid rise, for that matter, the brine will maintain a level upper surface'and will evenly regenerate all of the particles of the zeolite; whereas, under a downward delivery, being heavier than pure water, will form eddies or currents in the pure water with a result, as has been demonstrated in practice that the regeneration will not b e even throughout the body of zeolite. This apparatus is especially designed for the softening of' waterl by the use of zeolite, either natiiral or artificial, but is capable of use regardless of whether the softened material is, or is not, a substance chamically describable as zeolite. Zeolite is the only material at present known to me which can be used, but it is possible that there are other materials that will have the desired softening action on water and capable of being regenerated by the action of the brine or other regeneratin liquid. The so-called lter y2 in the upper portion of the ltering tank may be of a coarse material having for its principal purpose, to prevent any of thel particles of the zeolite from being back-washed'from the tank. The

' zeolite itself, acts as a filter and may be of` finer material than that of the filter-y.

In the apparatus illustrated, the so-calld filtering tank is a closed water receptacle,

but in some instances, it may be an open receptacle. In fact, I contemplate a form of the ,apparatus wherein'the water receptacle will be a large reservoir, such as`would be used, for example, in -a municlpal yilterlng plant. The improved process 1s therefore'v l nate below t e Ibottom ofthe lower brinefz.

applicable to the operation of such municipal filtering plants.

The discharge 01".'1ower end ofthe vsocalled drain ipe `2 0 should not only termitan'lfbut should terminate above the lowest paint'bf the pipe-26-onconnect1on between the brine tank and the softening tank or filter, so as to prevent complete draining of said pipe 26. If the. pipe 26 were drained, air would be admittedinto the bottom of the tank 3 and, bubbling upward therethrough, stir up andmix the regenerating fluid and pure water, and also would let water run out from the top of the tank.

From what has been said, it will, of course, be understood that a multiplicity of brine tanks, while desirable, is not necessary in all cases. The brine tanksmay be located at various elevations in respect to the tank 3. For example, such a tank may be located higher up than the uppermost brine tank 25, or considerably lower than the lower brine tank 24,'and still the brine would be caused to flow from such brine tank into the filtering tank, provided the discharge end of pipe 20 be located below the said brine tank.

The above described is the preferred nanner of using the apparatus, but it is capable vof use in some other slightly dierent ways.

For instance, after the zeolite has been exhausted, the water from the tank 3, can be drained and then the brine caused to flow and rise upwardly through the substantially dry zeolite. To eifectthe above action by gravity, it would be necessary for the brine tank to be located above the upper surface of the zeolite.

kIt has already been noted that in the regenerationor devitalization of the zeolite or water softening substance, it is first subjected lto a regeneratingliquid ",orbrine that is relatively weak in the regenerating material, and is, later in the operation, subjected to a brine or regenerating liquid that 1s stronger in the regenerating substance. If subjected in the first instance to a very strong brine, the chemical action set up is likely to be so intense as to break up the granular particles of the zeolite and ultimately reduce the same to a pasty mass through which water cannot bereadily forced, and which, if subjected to forcedcirculation of water will be washed away by the water. Practicehasv shown, however, that where the regenerating action is set up, rst by a relatively weak solution andthen by a stronger solution, the regenerating action will not at anyl time be suiiiciently intense to produce the above destruc- 'tive action in the zeolite.

What I claim is: i

1.- The process of regenerating a water softening substance which consists in forcing a rising columnv of regenerating liquid up-l ward therethrough while-draining off from above said substance the devitalized portion of saidliquid and continuingisaid operation until the regenerating liquid is no longer materially changed by the softening substance and until the devitalized portion of said liquid has'bee'n substantially removed, thereaftenreclaiming the unexhausted pornaaaeaa tion of said regenerating-liquidby drawing the column thereof .downward through and 'from said softening substance and in maintaining the separation of said unexhausted regeneratingliquidy from said devitalized liquid. u

2. The process of regenerating a water softening substance that therefrom. by, forcing upward therethrough a rising column of regenerating liquid that vis heavier than pure water, and in continuingthe upward displacement until the regenerating liquid is no longer materially changedby the softening substance and un' til the devitalized portion of said regeneratingl liquid has also been substantially reliquid and reclaiming theformer for subseregenerating liquid changed by the softening substance and un quent use;

'3. The process of regenerating a water" softening substance' that is immersed in water, which consists -in displacing the water therefrom by vforcing upward therethrough a rising column of regenerating liquid that is heavierthan waterand in 'continuing the 'upward displacement until the is no longer materially til the devitalized portion of said re is immersed in water, wlnch consists m dlsplacmg the water 'i Witnesses:

ating liquid has also been displaced, uring such displacement' drawing from immediately above the softening substancel the liquid thus displaced, thereafter forcing Water in a downward direction toward the upper surface of said softening substance and drawing the same od' from a level immediately above said softening substance, in

thereafter displacing from said softeningV substance2 the unexhausted portion of said regenerating liquid by forcing a column of Water downward through said softening substance, in maintaining the separation of the unexhausted portion of said regenerating liquid from the devitalized liquid and reclaiming the former for subsequent use.

4. The process or' regeneratlng a watersoftening substance, which consists in` delivering upward therethrough, a rising column of regenerating liquid that is rst relatively weak and then relatively stronger in the regenerating substance.

5. .'lhe process of regenerating a water l softening substance that is immersed in 1 water, which consists in displacing the water therefrom by forcing upward therethrough is heavier than pure water andyvhich regenerating liquid thus delivered is first rela'- tively Weak and then relatively strong in the regenerating substance.

'ln testimony whereof I ax my in presence of two witnesses.

GEURGE H; lUlEC.

HAnRrD. it o oma, l?. l). CHANT.

signature e5 i a rising column of regenerating liquid that 

